Just looked this up on the web,
<b>Quote-</b>
Introduced on July 5, 1937, the name "Spam" was chosen when the product, whose original name was far less memorable (Hormel Spiced Ham), began to lose market share. The name was chosen from multiple entries in a naming contest. A Hormel official once stated that the original meaning of the name "Spam" was "Shoulder of Pork and Ham". According to writer Marguerite Patten in Spam – The Cookbook, the name was suggested by Kenneth Daigneau, an actor and the brother of a Hormel vice president, who was given a $100 prize for coming up with the name. At one time, the official explanation was that the name was a syllabic abbreviation of "Spiced Ham". Many jocular backronyms have been devised, such as "Something Posing As Meat", "Stuff, Pork and Ham" and "Spare Parts Animal Meat". <b>Quote</b>
Hmmm, 1937?
better check the sell by date on the can hiding in the back of the cupboard [:0]